Woo, Joanne
Joanne Woo’s family has a long history in Calgary, Alberta. Her paternal grandfather, Lim Soon, came to Canada in 1900. His wife, Mrs. Lim Soon Dayton (Wong Shee), arrived in 1923 on the last boat to bring Chinese immigrants to Canada before The Chinese Immigration Act, 1923 came into effect, bringing about the Exclusion Period (1923-1947). The family adopted the name Dayton, after the restaurant-turned-store they operated in Calgary. The Lim Daytons’ son, William, married Marguerite Lim Dayton (née Wong) in 1939. Marguerite was responsible for operating the family grocery business along with raising three children, including Joanne. Encouraged to pursue an education by her parents, Joanne entered Business College for secretarial training. She became the first secretary of the Board of Directors of the Sien Lok Society, and has remained active in the organization ever since.
‘I was raised outside of Chinatown and I was raised in a very Western tradition – my family did not really follow any Chinese traditions and spoke only English – so getting involved in Sien Lok gave me a form of identity as a Chinese Canadian.’
In this clip, Joanne Woo recalls her involvement in the campaign to preserve Calgary, Alberta’s Chinatown, and how this movement led to the formation of the Sien Lok Society. She describes fundraising banquets that she helped organize for the Society, and concludes by explaining the valuable role the Society played in developing her Chinese Canadian identity.
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